The Bermuda National Trust is appealing for volunteers to help tell the hidden stories of slaves at Verdmont.

Currently an unacknowledged presence, it is thought that black Bermudians were instrumental in both building the 18th century house and crafting the furniture. Many enslaved blacks were skilled labourers who left their mark on the evolution of Bermudian architecture.

Certainly, the house and grounds were maintained by slaves right up to emancipation. John Dickinson, its builder, owned six slaves at the time of his death - four men and two women, who lodged in the "outroom and buttery". In his 1714 inventory, Robin and Peter were listed at 35 pounds each, Prince at 30, Sambo at 20, Ruth at 20, and Beck at 25.

Thomas Smith's 1782 inventory lists four men, three women, five boys and two girls as slaves. The most highly valued was Joe at £90, then there was Mell, Daniel and Bacchus, Rachel, Sue and Marian, boys Nat, Sam, Davy, Jim and Tom, and girls Tish and Sall.

An 1803 inventory of the possessions of John Green lists three slaves – Brutus and Prince, each valued at £40, and Philis, a girl listed at £25.

There were also eight slaves registered to Sarah Musson Trott, widow of Samuel Henry Trott, in the 1821 Slave Register, most of whom were labourers. They appear as Dick, David, Prince and Peter; women Beck and Lattice; and Nancy, aged 14.

The 1833 Register for John Henry Trott lists six slaves – Tom, a mason; Dick and Prince, labourers; Nancy; and children and domestic servants Emma, 13, and Geoffrey, five.

The National Trust is now appealing for volunteers to help document the slave experience at Verdmont.

If you would like to assist in the research and help expand these Bermudians' stories, please contact Laura Lyons on 236-6483 or laura[AT]bnt.bm